The First Sky
Uranus is the primordial personification of the sky, born from Gaia (the Earth) and then taken by her as her consort. Together they produced the first divine generation — the twelve Titans — along with the Cyclopes and the hundred-handed Hecatoncheires.
His name comes from the Greek Ouranos, simply meaning "sky" or "heaven." In the oldest cosmology he is the sky itself, arching over the earth — less a character than a cosmic boundary that fathered everything beneath it.
Overthrown by His Son
Fearing his monstrous children, Uranus imprisoned them inside Gaia. In revenge she armed her youngest Titan, Cronus, with a sickle. Cronus ambushed and castrated his father, ending Uranus's reign and beginning the age of the Titans — a pattern of generational overthrow that Cronus himself would later suffer at the hands of Zeus.
Common Questions
Who were the parents of Uranus?
In Hesiod's account Uranus had no father — he was produced by Gaia (Earth) alone, then became her consort. The two are among the very first beings to emerge after Chaos.
